Many thanks to those wrote in wondering where I’ve been. Over the past month I’ve been typing up some brand new English worksheets, planning some new ideas for this website, and I also created my new webzine for men which you are very welcome to visit:
The name of my new website might get you to wonder what ‘lifestyle design’ means. The term is relatively new to the language, even in the USA. Author Tim Ferriss has been credited with making it popular, and now there are loads of websites, products and coaches devoted to ‘lifestyle design’.
The problem with lifestyle design is that many people have begun to interpret it as something that only the wealthy and privileged can get access to. For example, if you’re a student in Prague and you don’t have much money at all, then the idea of travelling the world and doing exotic things like going to Argentina to learn salsa or taking up Chinese in Beijing may seem like a far away dream. You just may not have the money for it just now.
I prefer to define ‘lifestyle design’ simply as a way for you to look at your life and try to improve it. The main focus is to look at what you’re doing and work out if it is really what you want to be doing. Make adjustments if you need to, so that you are spending more time on your priorities, interests, and ambitions.
This brings me to learning English. Some of my students over the years have been concerned with their English yet at the same time they lost touch with why they were learning the language. They might have been worried about how to learn a part of English grammar, and be concerned with the mistakes they were making in class yet not look at the bigger picture.
Aren’t you learning English because it will help you improve your life? Why are you learning English? It could be to help you in the world of work, to communicate better with your English partner, or to meet new people. Lots of my students have been into English for travel reasons, especially since the Czech Republic joined the European Union.
You can already see from some of the articles I’ve written that I would like to encourage learners of English to look beyond the grammar and focus on what they wish to achieve in life with their language skills. There are already TONS of websites devoted to English grammar – the ‘tenses’, conditionals, linking words – but not enough about inspiring learners to go beyond the lesson and look inside at their own motivations.
I’ll be expanding on this theme very soon with a new workbook for you – I am really sure you won’t have seen this in your regular English lessons so be sure to come back again soon!
In the meantime, feel free to comment below about why you are learning English or to leave some comments on Men’s Lifestyle Design!
david(at)engage.cz
David Sweetnam
English Teacher and Trainer
Engage sro Prague
IČO 28400852
DIČ CZ28400852
David Sweetnam
English Teacher and Trainer
Engage s.r.o.
david [at] GetIntoEnglish [dot] com
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Thank you for this. Lifestyle design = little ways to improve your life that you might not have considered. That’s a good perspective on it. I’m on the other side of the coin. I am learning Chinese to improve my life and teaching English.
I think that the four hour workweek might need to be re-released with an alternate title so that more people will read it. I keep urging my friends to pick it up, but they won’t because they see “escape the 9-5″ and they think that it is an unattainable fantasy.